I have a savage axis in .243 that came with a semi decent piece of glass. Got rid of the flexi stock in favour of a Boyd's laminate stock ($110 delivered to my doorstep), and a bolt on bipod. It can knock down deer, and has put a dent in the local coyote population, all for under about $500.

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Apparently, a "USUAL SUSPECT"

“In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility; but when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favor'd rage.”

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and start slitting throats

Good suggestions for the 270, 30-30, .308 etc. Shot placement is more important. Sourcing guns such as auctions, you need to know what to look for or have someone look at what you like so you get a rifle that does not require repair. New firearms are more accurate than in the past with the use of cnc machining. A $500 rifle can shoot an inch group at 100 yards if you can. Make a list of must have, ie: ability to mount a scope, type of action, bolt, lever, single shot, semi auto.Most hunters I know and that includes me want the ability of quick follow up shots so a semi and lever fit. Now add a scope so a lever tends to be difficult for a scope but a semi works well with one. Next what are you allowed to shoot in your hunting zone? If rifle a semi with a scope works, if restricted to shotgun/muzzleloader then a semi shotgun with rifled barrel works. A 20 ga is best, shoots flatter and less recoil and weight then a 12 ga. I have a 20 ga Remington with rifled barrel capable 0f 200+ yard shots. Very accurate for a shotgun and puts down deer quickly.If you decide rifle the new type cartridges that cost 4x more do not take a deer any better than the 100+ year old 30-30, 30-06 etc.New expensive chamberings are mostly marketing with negligible differences in ballistics for hunting purposes.Buy first what you need with the features you like and make sure you can shoulder it with your hunting coat on. Don't want a stock too long or short.

Well its been many moons since I've done any hunting, but my rifle was a Browning BLR in .308 with a 4X Leopold scope. Nice and light if you are doing lots of walking and short in length which makes it idea when moving through bush.

I would go with a savage, probably a model 10 because you can upgrade the riffle as you want. It's cheap and you can expect about half MOA with the right ammo/handloads. I know your eager to kick Buble gum and chew *** but I would stick to something short action like 308 or even better 6.5creedmore. the ballistics at range of those two are excellent, with 6.5 winning in my mind because it shoots flat, and shooting flat allows you a larger margin of error if you call the distance to target a bit off. either way, go to a store and ask to hold some riffles because the feel of the riffle in your hands is a hugely underrated factor people often forget about.

I have a Browning X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Long Range in 6.5 Creedmoor with a 5.5-22x56 Nightforce on top. It'll get me out to 1000 yards no problem. It's a dream to shoot medium to long range.

I added a picatinny rail, and mounted the NF on a bracketed mount so I could swap it out with my Leupold VX 2 4x.

If it were any higher caliber it would really make a mess up close, especially with the Hornady ELD-X rounds I find best for it.

The tradeoff on that round is the expansion helps at longer ranges, but really tends to bungle things up close range.

It comes default with a free floated barrel, and a muzzle brake, which really reduces kick, and allows for less hassle on subsequent shots.

If you wanted to upgrade a Remington 700 at a Gunsmith, it'd cost more than buying the browning stock. I debated buying a Remington 700 Sendero for a long time, because it's basically the Cadillac... But I went with the Browning anyhow. I had the liberty of trying a friend's 700 in 300 win mag, but it was a funny setup with an ATN Thor-HD 384 on top.

I gotta say, the number of options aftermarket for the 700 is amazing. So if you want something you can customize all day long without buying 10 different rifles, I'd go with the Remington 700.

I was just going to use mine for specifically hunting White Tail, and maybe some random varmints occasionally, and it's perfect for that.